com Cards Virginia Pilotonline State Would Government Eliminate Bill Id Veteran In

Feb 29, 2012

A highly scannable business card

NOT BAD (scanned perfectly in spite of a patterned background BUT it would have been nice to see her business name in type, say between her name and her title, as scanners won’t “read” graphics (The Mary Kay logo to the right)

com Cards Virginia Pilotonline State Would Government Eliminate Bill Id Veteran But I immediately noticed that NeatDesk “likes” some business cards and not others.

Some cards won’t translate to text at all.

Don’t you want YOUR business card to be OCR-friendly? I mean, who wants to create more work for a business contact or prospective employer or client?

com Cards Virginia Pilotonline State Would Government Eliminate Bill Id Veteran You want an OCR-scannable business card.

Here are some dos and don’ts about creating a highly scannable document, at least on NeatDesk.

GOOD:

Large text. If you have trouble reading it, so will OCR software. Sans serif or serif, type will translate nicely if it’s big enough. And by big enough I mean just not teensy tiny.

Simplicity. Cards with simple (not fancy) lettering and clean backgrounds will scan better, no matter whether your background is light or dark and whether your type is white or black.

Contrast. Letters need to contrast with the background. A light blue type on a dark blue background, for instance, may not work well.

com Cards Virginia Pilotonline State Would Government Eliminate Bill Id Veteran Critical info on one side of the card. NeatDesk can scan both sides of a business card. Some scanners can’t, and even NeatDesk won’t always incorporate data accurately from both sides. So put all important contact info on one side of the card.

com Cards Virginia Pilotonline State Would Government Eliminate Bill Id Veteran Critical info grouped logically. Notice the “Real Bad” version of a business card above. It’s mine! Information needed to be larger and perhaps better organized. Oddly, the only two pieces of information that went into the correct locations of the OCR form were my work phone and my email address. On the other hand, Janice Lewis’s card above mine) was a perfect scan. No database touch-ups necessary.

Logos with business name incorporated. If you use a logo, pair it with a text version of your business name, so that it can be read as text. Graphics don’t translate into text. See my caption notes for the Mary Kay business card above.

OK:

Two-sided cards. NeatDesk can scan both sides, but keep your critical info on one side.

Light type on dark background. Just make sure there’s enough contrast between the two.

So, if you’re designing a business card, or having one designed, be sure to take a print-out, cut it down to size, and run it through your scanner. I’d rather be associated as making life easier for my business contacts, not more difficult. Wouldn’t you?

Susan, For iPhone users an app called CardMunch far surpasses any ocr program. Once installed you simply take a photo of the card and a live human reads it and fills out the contact info. Its a FREE app !

A state delegate has proposed ditching a state-issued Veteran ID Card in lieu of a veteran designation on a driver’s license.Bill would eliminate state Veteran ID cards in Virginia | Virginia Government | pilotonline.com